Keanu Reeves Set to Voice John Wick in Lionsgate Animated Impossible Task Prequel

Keanu Reeves has closed a deal to return as John Wick in Lionsgate’s animated prequel about the hitman’s Impossible Task, according to Variety, TheWrap and Animation World Network (AWN). Variety reported on Nov. 5, 2026, that Reeves “officially closed a deal” to voice the character. TheWrap said Lionsgate greenlit the untitled project during Thursday’s earnings call; AWN likewise described the film as officially greenlit with Reeves signed to voice the assassin.

ComingSoon.net and FandomWire also reported that Reeves’ participation is now locked in after an earlier project announcement without a finalized starring deal. Polygon, publishing Nov. 6, said Reeves recently closed his deal and wrote that Lionsgate “greenlit the film last April.” AWN and FandomWire place the CinemaCon announcement in April 2025 and treat the Nov. 5, 2026, move as the official greenlight and Reeves deal confirmation, matching Variety and TheWrap’s framing.

The Impossible Task storyline

Variety reported that the story recounts Wick’s origins as he completes the Impossible Task — “the killing of all of his rivals in one night” — to free himself from his obligation to the High Table and earn the right to be with Helen, the love of his life. AWN said the film is set before the first live-action “John Wick” feature in 2014 and follows Wick completing that assignment to escape the underworld council of assassins. ComingSoon.net and FandomWire offered the same one-night elimination premise tied to Helen and the High Table.

TheWrap wrote that the prequel dramatizes the Impossible Task that freed Wick from his gangland overlords, while adding that further plot details remain under wraps. FandomWire noted that the live-action films established the assignment’s reputation — including Russian crime boss Viggo Tarasov offering Wick retirement in exchange for completing it — but never showed how Wick carried it out. Lionsgate has not released a fuller synopsis beyond that framing.

Shannon Tindle directing; Firpo brothers on the script

Shannon Tindle will direct, all six outlets reported. Variety described him as an animation veteran best known for Netflix’s “Ultraman: Rising” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.” TheWrap and AWN also cited his Emmy-winning Netflix series “Lost Ollie.” TheWrap added credits including character design on “Coraline” and DreamWorks’ “The Croods,” plus television work such as “Samurai Jack,” and said “Ultraman: Rising” won three Emmys while “Lost Ollie” won five.

Ryan and Kaz Firpo wrote the script, according to Variety, TheWrap, AWN, ComingSoon.net, FandomWire and Polygon. TheWrap and Polygon noted the brothers wrote Marvel’s “Eternals,” with TheWrap naming co-writers Patrick Burleigh and director Chloé Zhao. AWN reported Lionsgate first announced the project at CinemaCon in April 2025 with Vanessa Taylor (“The Shape of Water”) attached to write; FandomWire said Taylor is absent from the newly announced writing credits.

At the 2025 announcement, Lionsgate motion picture chair Adam Fogelson said, “In both animation and the world of ‘John Wick,’ the possibilities are endless. And there is no ‘John Wick’ story fans are clamoring for more than the ‘Impossible Task,’” Variety reported. He added, “Shannon’s take on that story is an incredible one, and we are beyond excited to see what John Wick can do in animation,” Variety said; ComingSoon.net carried the same comments via Variety. FandomWire attributed to Chad Stahelski a CinemaCon 2025 remark that he has “always been fascinated with anime” and that Japanese animation influenced “John Wick.”

Producers and the expanding franchise

Variety reported that Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee and 87Eleven Entertainment’s Chad Stahelski will produce alongside Reeves, joined by Point Grey. AWN and FandomWire identified Point Grey as Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s company. TheWrap listed the same core producers and said Nathan Kahane is an executive producer.

Variety reported that “John Wick” has grossed more than $1 billion globally across five movies, including the Ana de Armas-led spinoff “Ballerina.” TheWrap said “Ballerina” arrived last year with an extended Reeves cameo. Variety, ComingSoon.net and FandomWire said a fifth live-action “John Wick” is in development, along with a standalone built around Donnie Yen’s blind assassin Caine.

TheWrap reported that “Caine” shot from April to July of this year, with Yen directing and co-conceiving the story and Rina Sawayama returning as Shimazu Akira; chronologically, TheWrap said, it follows “John Wick: Chapter 4.” FandomWire, citing TheWrap, and Polygon both said the Caine film has wrapped principal photography. TheWrap also noted a planned series tentatively titled “John Wick: Under the High Table,” a Lionsgate Television, 87Eleven and Thunder Road venture with Robert Levine as showrunner. Polygon recalled the 2023 series “The Continental: From the World of John Wick.”

Release date and remaining open questions

None of the outlets reviewed listed a release date. Polygon said the animation studio has not been announced; FandomWire likewise reported no release date, studio or additional voice cast beyond Reeves. TheWrap described the project as untitled. Coverage from Variety, TheWrap, AWN, ComingSoon.net, FandomWire and Polygon converges on the Nov. 5–6, 2026, confirmation that Lionsgate has greenlit the film and that Reeves will voice John Wick, with Tindle directing a Firpo brothers script focused on the Impossible Task.

Sources

• Variety
• TheWrap
• Animation World Network (AWN)
• ComingSoon.net
• FandomWire
• Polygon